St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-03-15
A ROTTEN BRIDGE.
1t Gives Way Suddenly Beneath the
Weight of a Crowded Pas
senger Train,
And the Struggling Mass of Human
ity is Precipitated to a
Street Below.
About Thirty People So Far Known to
Have Met With Swift and
Terrible Deaths.
Scores of Others Receive Injuries Which,
in Some Instances, Will Result
Fatally.
The Bodies of Several Victims
Chopped in Two to Get
Them out.
A List of the Lost --Heartrending
Scenes About the Fright
ful Wreck.
The Bodies of Several Victims
Chopped in Two to Get
Them out.
A List of the Lost --Heartrending
Scenes About the Fright
ful Wreck.

of the Boston Il Providence railroad, be-
tween Forest Hill and Roslindale, at what
is known as Bussey Park bridge. The Z
o'clock train from Dedham, consisting of
seven cars and a baggage car. under charge
of Conductor Tilden, broke through the
bridge. The engine and three cars went
over safely, but the five others fell through
the bridge to the road beneath, a distance
OF thirty feet. The last car. which was
the smoker, turned completely over and
struck on top Of the others, all being
crushed almost out of shape. The bridge
is comparatively new one. and the acci-
dent was caused by truck on one of the
cars giving way, causing the car to strike
against the abutment of the bridge. The
smoking car, after it fell, caught fire, but
the fire department was promptly on hand
and prevented any spread of the flames.
The
BODIES OF THE DEAD
have all been removed, and OF the wounded
some are at the hospital and some have
been taken home. The engineer, when his
engine broke from the train, kept right on
to Forest Hill and gave the alarm, instead
of stopping to ascertain the extent OF the
accident and on that account it was posi-
of the accident is about mile from Jamaica
Plain, where the main line of the Boston &
Providence railroad branches Off to the left
to Readvile and Providence, while to the
right runs sweeping curve, the Dedham
branch. This arm is built through valley
and the embankment for long distance is
high one. South street. which leaves
Newton street near the BuzZy woods, runs
diagOnally under the track OF the branch,
and it was into this cut that the cars of the
train
PLUNGED FROM THE BRIDGE
which crossed it. 1t has been stated that
owing to the peculiar arrangement Of the
abutment the bridge was really the weakest
on the cOncave side of the curve where the
heaviest strain was experienced. The
bridge is known among railroad men as the
'tn bridge" 1t crosses the marsh which
lies between Forest Hill and Roslindale
and is approached on either side by en-
bankments which were filled in when the
road was constructed. The train was one
OF the largest and heaviest on the morning
list. This morning, as usual, the train
was heavily laden and the three cars which
left the track were Tiled with passengers,
who had taken the train at Dedham and
the stations between there and Forest Hill.
AS soon as the accident occurred word was
sent to the nearest station and from there
the superintendent was notified and mes
sengers summOning surgical assistance were
sent out on horseback. Surgeons were at
once in attendance and the injured passen-
gers received prompt attention. In the
meantime force of IDen were at work to
relieve those who were pinned under the
wreck, and
A wRECKING TRAIN
was made up and at once sent to the scene
One hundred and fifty mattresses were OBJ
tanned at the city hospital and sent to the
scene of the accident by special train,
which also carried large number of sur
geons, together with friends of the pas
sengers. An eye witness says the accident
was due to the giving way of the structure
under the weight OF the train.
An inspection of the wreck reveals the
fact that the eight cars comprising the
train are jumbled into a complete wreck.
From the location of the wrecked cars it
would seem the first three cars passed over
the bridge safely. The structure evidently
gave way when the fourth car was passing
over it. The five rear cars went through to
the roadway, landing in mass of Splinters
in the street. The strain of the five falling
cars pulled the three coaches in advance
from the rails. They remained Oh top of
the embankment, but were pulled off the
trucks. and the floor of each was forced
nearly to the roof. while the seats were
jumbled together in great confusion. The
end Of the second coach was
A MASS OF SPLINTERS,
caused by the car ahead grinding against it
when the others went down the embank-
ment. The third coach was tattened to the
ground as if it had fallen on its trucks
from a great height. although it remained
on the edge of the embankment. The roof
of the fourth car also remained on the en-
bankment, having evidently been showed
clean from its fastening where the coach
went through. The next four cars went
down in heap, the smoker, which was OH
the rear of the train, falling in the midst of
the coaches and being actually ground into
small splinters. The occupants of the
smoker were all either killed or injured
Two coaches went clear across the Reading
landing against stone wall that bounded
large field at the foot of a hill. AS the
ears lie in their present location they pre-
sent picture of such absolute demolition
that it seems remarkable that any person in
them escaped alive. Cushions from the
seats are scattered over the roadway and
into the adjacent pasture. while car wheels
and trucks are distributed in all directions
In the mass of SplinterS in the roadway
are
POOLS OF BLOOD,
and occasionally a portion of body can be
seen, although such connected portions of
human remains are hurried away to the
morgue. Still there are pieces Of flesh to
De seen fastened between timbers as if ac-
tually gouged from some victim. COnduc-
.or Tilden was in the third car which re-
NAMED on top of the embankment, and on
the ground directly underneath where he
was standing when killed is a pool of blood.
while half of the debris of that coach is
.spattered with blood. Underneath this
coach were picked up the breast and lungs
of human being, possibly portion of the
conductors body. That the horrors of the
fire were not added to the terrible disaster
was due to the promptness with which re-
lief was sent. The chemical engine from
fRosliudale was at the scene within twenty
minutes after the wreck occurred, brought
bv letter carrier, who gave an alarm of
fire upon observing flames issuing from the
debris.
THE FLAMES
were soon extinguished, and the firemen
then did excellent work in rescuing the in
dured. The stoves in all the cars were Sc
curely fastened to the floor by iron bolts
and the doors of the stoves were locked.
In only one car did the stove upset. al
though in one instance stove was smashed
clear through the roof of the car in which it
had been. The scenes just after the dis
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